Specialized Hardrock... What year?

[Calorian]

Hey guys,

Just signed up. Been flicking through the forums now for a couple of weeks. Went out and bought an older model of Hardrock for £35 and then decided I wanted to know what year it was and what other people thought about it. Saw a mini article in this months MBUK and remembered this place and figured I could ask here. I also want to know if its Retro enough?

I bought it with a snapped gear cable, dodgy BMX handgrips, a 6 speed cassette and a one one front brake pad. The bike is currently under going a rebuild now

Picture to follow

 

[Calorian]

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[P20]

Thats the entry hardrock from 99 or 2000 i think

 

[Calorian]

Hey,

Thanks. What do you recon to the frame itself. Is it worth building upon as a starter and on a budget?

I have started building on it and it seems to work ok but any opinions?

I put some Suntour XC60 front forks on, some new gear cable, some new hand grips and new rim+cassette and rear derailer on.

G

 

[Jamiedyer]

Hello Hardrock fan

Hello
I have a hard rock which is exactly the same.
It is a 2001 model with rigid forks, it was listed as the base model as I believe it was the last of the cromo, the others in the range were all alu.
Its a good bike, I purchased mine in 2002 as I came to the UK (Scotland) in 2001 and early 2002 decided to stay for a few years. I had bought my roadie from Aus but had to leave behind my other bike (rockhopper) and so needed a cheap machine that if I had to move on I could leave behind without much financial loss. Well I am still here and so is the hardrock it is still being used by my partner and I even run my two huskies hooked to the front of it. It is completely standard with the exception of having commuting tyres and when it goes off road it has a better set of wheels and some good tyres. I have also acquired an S works, 06 stumpy and rockhopper but the hardrock has a special place as I put a lot of miles on it in the Highlands when it was my only offroad bike and while it is a bit heavy, it is extremely tough and is comfortable for exploring for days on end. Mine is still fitted with all the original gear, with the exception of brake pads which two huskies going at 15 miles an hour wear down fairly quickly, and considering it cost me £180 new from one of Evans sales I can honestly say it has been an absolute bargain.
I will dig out the specs and let you know what was fitted if you want,
but enjoy it, its a great frame so if you are upgrading it should be better still.
All the best
Jamie

 

[hamster]

These rigid Specializeds have a great reputation as touring frames - a lot of expedition tourers have used them. While they are not the lightest they are really tough and handle well, even with big loads.

Nice bikes.

 

[Jamiedyer]

Hardrock update

Hello
Your hardrock would have come with the following spec

Brakes - shimano V's (unbranded)
Shifters and brake levers - shimano st's - 7 speed
Front mech - shimano Acera
rear Mech - Shimano Alivio
Front hub - formula
Rear hub - shimano
Rims - ZAC 19
Bar, Stem, Seatpost and seat - specialized
Chainset - specialized forearm sport - black arms
chainrings - 42, 32, 22 - black outer
cassette - shimano 11 - 28, 7 speed
chain - shimano 7 speed
headset - ritchey

hope this gives you some idea of how it came out the box. Mine has done lots of miles and never had a problem, just maintain and it seems to go on trouble free.
As the post above says they see a fair bit of touring duty as they are well built and tough, throw on some racks and off you go. Well maybe get shot of the original rims first. A good frame to upgrade as you go on, and also an excellent commuter, I've also seen a few singlespeed conversions. I have been toying with that myself.
They dont get as much interest as the stumpys and rockhoppers, but still a quality product IMHO.
Good luck
Jamie